McCaleb: Climate Change is all of our responsibility

We have two SUVs in our household. And even when my wife and I worked similar schedules in the same Crystal Lake office, we never carpooled.

Most nights I allow my computer to "sleep," rather than turn it off. And I'm the kind of person who will open the refrigerator door, stare for a minute or two, then take nothing out, only to repeat the process 30 minutes later.

I could go on and on.

Bottom line is, I waste a lot of energy. As a result, I've placed my big, fat carbon footprint all over the Earth's atmosphere, and contributed to climate change along the way.

Beginning now, I plan to make some changes. And I hope you'll join me.

The Northwest Herald today debuts a monthlong interactive project we're calling the McHenry County Climate Challenge.

In print and online at NWHerald.com/climatechallenge, we hope to break down this whole confusing mess we call global warming, and show you how through some simple lifestyle changes you can reduce your impact on the earth's environment.

At our Web site, you'll find our Climate Challenge pledge and a Carbon Calculator that mirrors one from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site.

After reading through our content on this topic, I encourage you to take a moment to fill out the pledge, committing yourself to doing something even just a little bit differently to lessen your impact on climate change.

There are so many options. We provide some tips today on page 9A, but we'll also publish a tip of the day throughout October.

You can share your experiences with our readers and read what others are doing at our Web site as well. Our Business Editor, Eric Olson, has taken the pledge and will blog about his experiences throughout October.

I also encourage you to try the Carbon Calculator. By answering some simple questions about your household - what's your average monthly gas and electric bill, how much do you recycle, how many miles do you drive each week - the calculator will show you how much less of an impact you'll have by, for example, turning your thermostat down by just a single degree or two in winter.

There's a lot to digest here, both in print and at NWHerald.com. Climate change is a complicated topic. But it's an important one.

And, yes, there still is some debate about how much of an impact we human beings actually have had on global warming. But the prevailing opinion of scientists across the globe is that human activity is the reason for it, particularly through the burning of fossil fuels to create energy.

If you're a doubter, that's fine. I encourage you to participate in our online dialogue, too. We want to have a community discussion on this topic.

I personally want to take a moment to thank Lisa Haderlein, executive director of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, and Peter Benkendorf, founder of Involvement Advocacy, a McHenry County organization dedicated to improving the quality of life here.

Haderlein and Benkendorf brought the idea for this project to us earlier this year after learning of a similar project conducted by The Seattle Times. They also provided us with tons of useful information and potential resources.

They already are making a difference.

Now it's our turn.

• Dan McCaleb is senior managing editor of the Northwest Herald.